Wrapping up from my day of work in Rapid City, I wandered down the main route, highway 90, for the hour drive to the Badlands. As all highways, there were advertisements along the side for upcoming attractions which I just kind of ignored, until I noticed a pattern. Nearly every single mile, a small sign was placed calling my attention to “Wall Drug” because that didn’t sound conspicuous at all. Interest piqued, it was also the same exit as for the Badlands, and I had time to kill.
The town itself is called Wall, South Dakota. In Wall, there’s essentially a miniature theme park / visitor center / convenience store / buffet / every South Dakota and Badlands themed trinket you could think of, and some you couldn’t. A massive store, akin to almost a local Walmart, and equal in size, it began to give me small panic attacks akin to grocery shopping when I returned from my trip to Europe. I quickly escaped, glad to be out and on my way to the Badlands.
Pulling up to the gate at sundown, with more than one question for the gate attendant since the visitor center was clear on the other side of the park and long since closed. The free camping located down a dirt road as far as possible from the paid campground while still remaining in the park. Guess they didn’t want anyone to know they could do this for free. I pulled up and did a lap around to find a flat-ish parking spot for the night, settling for a place located in the “horse parking” area, though no horses could be found this night. I had noticed on my driving lap a car with a backpacking pack sitting outside the trunk and decided to chat them up, hoping for some info on what to do around here.
They turned out to be a carload of Canadians! Rolling across the country from Oregon, they were headed home to Toronto. We chatted about Yellowstone and Wyoming before losing the last of the sunlight and parting ways. They did reaffirm what the gate attendant had said, and shocked me. There were only 3 trails in the whole park, but visitors were allowed, and encouraged even, to just wander wherever their hearts desired.
WHAT?!?
We could hike and camp anywhere we wanted, so long as we didn’t die from the rattle snakes, big horned sheep, or bison that roamed around. This blew my mind. Normally National Parks are strict on staying on trails and only staying in designated areas; but now I was told to just run free, don’t die! Still a bit confused, I stayed up from partial excitement, and partial wonder.
Looking up at the sky, for the first time ever, I could visibly see the Milky Way. Its thin dark clouds forming an arch across the sky, a galactic monochrome rainbow. The stars were vivid, casting enough light that a headlamp was barely needed to distinguish road from grass. A small slice of heaven. But I knew I needed to wake up early, as this was a desert environment and I would be cooked alive in my car if I didn’t skedaddle promptly.
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A 6 am wakeup call from my screaming alarm clock again hard to ignore, but the beauty of the high sun reflecting off the stratified rock of the Badlands even harder to ignore. The Park only 30 miles in length from free campsite to visitor center, I stopped at every over look on the way to see the beauty. But, after the first 3 it became….boring as sad as I am to say it. The names of the overlooks changed, but it was still the same general picture, over and over. Maybe I was fatigued from giving blood the previous day, or already feeling burn out. But I wasn’t nearly as excited nor impressed as I had been the previous night, or even that morning.
Even traveling slow, making all the stops and spending time at each one, I made it to the visitor center by 11 am, the whole park “seen” in a morning. A bit disappointed, but also seeking cover from the 95 degree heat, the visitor center was refuge. I stopped in, inundated with people, I asked if there was much else to do, and the ranger reaffirmed that I had pretty much done all there is to do, minus the few tails. Not wanting to hike the desert trails and die in the sun during the heat of the day, I grabbed my book, found a free chair and read for the next 3 hours.
Finally, book finished, I figured it was time to hike. Remembering back to my time in Outward Bound, a long sleeve shirt soaked with water would be the best protection I could have against the brutal sun. With water to drink and to wear, I wandered up the trail and into the grass lands at the top. But not 20 paces in, and I was frozen with fear from my left ear. The rattle. That unmistakable sound of a rattle snake hidden somewhere in the tall grass. The one important lesson from childhood videogames realized: there were pokemon in tall grass, and they were poised to attack. A look around said I was the only person for some distance, and even with my pocket knife and first aid kit, a rattle snake bit wasn’t something I wanted to deal with on this trip.
Slowly, I inched forward, the sound of the rattle receding from front left, to back left and finally gone. Awesome, I had made it a quarter mile. The rest of the hike wasn’t nearly as memorable except with a few more instances of rattles heard. I did the same thing, slowly inching forward listening for the sounds to become behind me and moved on. It was probably the most stressful hike I’ve ever done. Glad I had done it, but even more so that it was done, I packed up and headed out. Remembering the warned from the ranger that part of the road may have been washed out, I figured my luck was good so far, and this was an adventure.
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A quick stop in a town without a single soul to be found and a single gas pump with two options: cheap unleaded or diesel. Paranoid about the drive I topped of the tank. Thankfully it wasn’t needed and the dirt road was surprisingly smooth. The only reminder that I wasn’t in complete nowhere-ville were the scattered mail boxes every so often, though the houses they belonged to nowhere to be seen.
Wandering the maze of small county roads with only a few other cars, all going in the opposite direction, I wandered into Hot Springs at 10 pm. Everything closed, the local gas station was stocked with all I desired: orange juice. After drinking nearly a gallon that day, some good old orange juice was much needed. To my surprise, I also had full blown cell signal! Sitting down on my trunk, I drank a little and surfed the internet to chat with friends in the cool night air. Being late enough, I decided waking up at Cascade Falls would be a good way to start the next day. A home found on the side of the road, still National Forest land, sleep came all too easily.
